New York Giants will not miss Texas Stadium

IRVING, Texas -- The Giants will be glad when they implode this place and get rid of perhaps the worst playing surface in the NFL because they always seem to leave Texas Stadium banged up.

In Sunday night's loss to the Cowboys, six players left the game with injuries or illness. The good news for the Giants, who were already without running back Brandon Jacobs (knee) and defensive tackle Fred Robbins (shoulder), is they all appeared to minor ailments.

Then again, try telling Rich Seubert his bout with the flu was minor.

"He was a sick guy all night," Tom Coughlin said of Seubert, who left late in the game. "He deserves a lot of credit for going out and playing. When I looked at him at noon, I didn't think there was any way he could play. But he fought his way back. He was on the floor in the (locker) room until about an hour before we took the field. He's a tough guy. There's no question about that."

Grey Ruegamer replaced Seubert and Kevin Boothe, a converted guard who gave up two sacks Sunday night, took over for right tackle Kareem McKenzie, who continues to suffer from a nagging bout of back spasms.

"You have good days, you have bad days," McKenzie said.

What was Sunday?

"Today was an okay day," he said.

In other injury news: LB Gerris Wilkinson left in the first quarter with a sprained knee. It's unclear if it's the same knee he sprained earlier this season.

S Kenny Phillips suffered a head injury in the second quarter. He appeared to be woozy after slipping on the turf while trying to make a tackle on a screen pass. He wasn't the only player to slip Sunday night on the notoriously slick surface.

RB Reuben Droughns suffered a burner in his neck in the first half and did not return.

Sinorice Moss strained his calf and left the game in the second half.

DE Justin Tuck limped off the field at one point. Trainers attended to his lower leg, which was the reason for his absence from practice on Wednesday. He returned and finished the game.

The first of QB Eli Manning's two interceptions came when the Cowboys showed a Cover-3 look and then switched to a Cover-2. A Cover-3 zone would have meant CB Terence Newman would have played deep off WR Domenik Hixon. But when Newman got safety help, he was able to jump Hixon's hook route and make a play on the ball.

"The safeties did a good job and fooled me. It was a bad decision on my part," Manning said. "I kind of rushed up there and it was a throw I shouldn't have made. That's all on me."

With Hixon battling foot and ankle injuries, R.W. McQuarters handled punt returns for the first time since Week 5 against Seattle. McQuarters also returned kicks after Moss left the game.

The Giants' loss kept Carolina from clinching a playoff spot and put the Cowboys at the top of the wild-card standings. If the Panthers, who finish at the Giants and at New Orleans, could go much farther -- win out, they get home-field advantage in the conference. The Giants and Panthers meet Sunday night at Giants Stadium with home-field advantage in the playoffs at stake. Only the Giants and Arizona have clinched playoff spots.